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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27807430">The one with the hands</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/PollyDarton/pseuds/PollyDarton'>PollyDarton</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>And Friendship, Hogwarts, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, MWPP, Marauders, as God intended, mentions of injury and pain, only soft feelings, sirius black is a healer, wolfstar, wolfstar as good friends</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 16:41:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,104</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27807430</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/PollyDarton/pseuds/PollyDarton</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A surprise waits for Remus at the infirmary.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sirius Black/Remus Lupin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>60</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The one with the hands</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Huge thanks to kattlupin for her beta help and lovely comments and to fforsythiaaa for her comments and insight. You two are the only reason I'm posting this.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Remus was awakened by the familiar dull pain surging through his body. He tried to breathe in deeply, but the movement caused all of his bones to complain, so he settled for a short, ragged breath. He attempted to open his eyes, but the light from the window directly across the room from him caused his eyes to ache too, so he gave that up quickly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he focused on his breathing, he could hear a soft shuffling sound moving around the room along with light footsteps. He tried to guess where the person was going from the sound alone as a way to distract his body from the pain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When at last he was able to take in a deep breath without agony he attempted to open his eyes again, slowly, accepting the pain in his eyes as it meant he could see. He looked around the infirmary, turning his head in the direction he had guessed the shuffling person had moved, and was glad to notice he had guessed their movement correctly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sight of Sirius Black roaming around the infirmary wearing the same type of robes Madam Pomfrey wore – hair cap and all – caught Remus so off guard that he wasn’t able to contain the laughter building inside his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The laughter turned quickly into a groan as his body reacted to it, and it caused Sirius to turn around and make his way towards him. When he noticed that Remus was awake, Sirius smiled brightly and grabbed his arm to help him sit against the pillows, and Remus found it easy to force his mind away from the touch as he was helped. Once he was content with Remus’ sitting condition, Sirius poured a potion into a chalice and handed it over to him, and Remus had to bite the corner of his mouth to contain his smile at how endearing it was to see Sirius handling it so carefully.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius sat on the chair beside Remus’ bed and watched him drink the potion, as if counting his swallows to make sure he drank everything in the cup. Remus winced slightly as he drank the last bit of the potion and handed Sirius the empty chalice, he could see a glimpse of a proud smile tugging at the corners of Sirius' lips when he placed it on the bedside table again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How are you feeling?" Sirius eyed him attentively, looking at his face for a second before running his eyes along Remus’ body, focusing on the spots where he knew the wounds were.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus stuck his tongue out, "Terrible." he played it lightly even as he had to look away from the scrutiny, “But nothing I haven't felt before." He tried to shrug, but gave up and breathed out slowly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The potion's supposed to help with that." Sirius looked around the place for a second, "Do you want me to call Madam Pomfrey?" He had one of his hands resting on the bed, by Remus’ side, and Remus looked at his short and clean nails that sat neatly on his fingers as he poked a spot on the bedding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus tried to shake his head, "No, don't worry. It will go away soon." He looked at his own hands, at the familiar crooked nails that now had dirt and dried blood underneath them, and tucked them out of sight under the blanket. “What are you doing here anyway?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius tugged a bit at his hair cap before standing up, “Learning.” He shrugged and didn’t elaborate further before he moved away to check on another student who was starting to stir. Remus watched him fuss over the student, his mind racing, wondering where this Sirius Black was coming from.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At some point Madam Pomfrey came around to check on him. She squeezed and fluffed his pillows and forced him to lie down, a frown on her brow, before moving to check on what Sirius was doing. As Remus watched them talk in hushed voices he felt sleep weigh on him again, and he welcomed it gladly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
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</p><p>
  <span>When Remus woke up again his eyes didn’t complain as much, and he noticed that it was close to dawn. Sitting up was easier than before, as he was not feeling the pain so completely, and he drank the water from a glass that was waiting for him at the bedside table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I brought you some food." Sirius appeared and pointed at the plate that was also waiting for Remus.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thank you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Sirius sat on the chair again, and it was clear that he wasn’t going anywhere, Remus grabbed the plate and started eating under his watchful gaze.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"James and Peter came in earlier to check on you." Sirius’ eyes were moving from the plate to Remus’ face, and Remus saved the look on his face in his memory for later assessment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus rolled the food around on his plate thinking about all the classes he had to miss, “Did I miss anything important today?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'd say it was a success, right?" Sirius chose to ignore his question as he leaned closer to Remus and said conspiratorially, "Last night?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus looked around, making sure no one could hear them. "I think so. You weren't hurt, right?" He brought the fork to his mouth and his face twisted as he tasted something nasty.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<span><span>Sorry for that, Madam Pomfrey said it was important that you had it.” Before he continued Remus recognized the glint in his eyes as mischief, “Peter had a bit of trouble with his tail, but we managed to make it go away before lunch.” Remus let out a shocked wave of laughter at the thought of Wormtail going to class with a tail, “Do you remember anything?"</span></span></span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was Remus’ turn to shake his head, "Not really." He was careful to push the disgusting thing as far away from him as he could on the plate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, now at least we can stay with you during it.” Sirius still had that mischievous glint in his eyes, but Remus could recognize his stubbornness too, that he was determined to make their animagi forms work in Remus' favour. "It's insane what happens to you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus could tell that Sirius was having a hard time holding it in, and he looked at his face looking for signs that he was scared, but he only saw wide eyes with something akin to amazement behind them. He didn’t know how to respond to his statement, so he didn’t.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You really never remember anything?" Sirius was not letting it go.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus shook his head again, the corners of his mouth pointing downward. "It's like I'm not there. It's another person... Like I'm another person… Thing." He frowned and ate some more, but the food didn’t seem as appealing any more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius nodded and looked around the infirmary. Remus was the only one still there. "It's almost time for you to go, right?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes, I just want to shower before." Remus put his plate on the bedside table, and let his legs hang from the side of the bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ok." Sirius grabbed his arm to help him stand up, but Remus removed his arm from the hold.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm fine. I'm not in pain any more." It was a lie, but he felt the warmth of Sirius’ hand very clearly on his skin, even through fabric, and Sirius didn't have to know that. He wondered if he would ever get used to the feeling of someone else’s hands on him. "Don't worry about it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a large mirror just above the sink, and Remus made an effort to not look at it as he undressed while the water heated up, but the sight of his movement reflected on the mirror in the corner of his eye was calling to him, until he couldn’t contain his curiosity any more and he had to check.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sighed and raised his eyes, focusing on his face first: a safe space, nothing new there. As his eyes ran down his torso he spotted the new scar on his side easily, for the skin was still a bit red around the edges. He ran his fingers over it and felt the sensitive skin under his touch. He breathed out through his mouth and turned around, soon spotting the new, large gash that adorned his shoulder blade. He stared at it until it lost meaning and his hands started to shake, when he at last entered the shower and let the hot water wash over him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he washed, he could feel the raised skin of the scars over his body.</span>
</p><p><span><span><span><span><span>Scars </span></span></span></span></span><span><span><em><span><span>he</span></span></em></span></span> <span><span><span><span><span>had left on his body.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p>
  <span>He didn’t cry about that any more, but he still felt bitter about it, and for that he was particularly rough when washing his hands, scrubbing them until the skin was red and all the dirt and blood had been removed from underneath his nails.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once he was done, he dried himself carefully, never looking in the direction of the mirror.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
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</p><p>
  <span>When Remus left the bathroom, he found Sirius already in his regular clothes eating something from a bag as he leaned against the door of the infirmary.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus ran his hand through his wet hair and took in the nonchalance of Sirius’ posture, and the ease of his shoulder. "You off?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius nodded and put a biscuit between his teeth before he held the door open for Remus, letting it close loudly behind them after they left.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So what was that?" Remus motioned to the infirmary they had just left behind and accepted the biscuit Sirius was offering him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius ran his hand through his hair. "I was practising." He smiled from the corner of his mouth and ate another biscuit with a grace only he could pull off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"For what exactly?" Remus shoved his hand into the bag and grabbed a handful of biscuits before Sirius could stop him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"To be a healer." Sirius shrugged, and for once his nonchalance didn’t seem natural. "You know. McGonagall called me in for orientation, and she thought it would be a good idea for me to take some practising with Madam Pomfrey to make sure it’s what I want before I choose my N.E.W.T.s next year."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus couldn’t help but notice how Sirius wasn’t looking at him as he spoke. "And since when do you want to be a healer?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"For a while now." Sirius kept shrugging like it was no big deal, but his eyes were looking out the windows as they made their way to the Gryffindor tower.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus let his mind conjure images of Sirius working in St. Mungus, caring for sick and injured people. "What about the Order?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius looked at him for the first time, "Did you tell her that you were planning to join the Order? What classes did she recommend for that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus flipped him off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius laughed, ”Order comes first, always, but we won't be at war forever, right? Plus, I had to choose something in the orientation."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus nodded in silence. It was weird to see this side of Sirius, and it caused Remus the sensation that his chest was falling, and he wasn’t sure he liked that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So this is where you've been going all week when you disappeared after classes.” It wasn’t a question. This time Sirius was able to get the bag out of Remus’ reach.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<span><span>Yep.” Sirius popped his lips at the end of the word and threw a biscuit in the air, moving his body just enough that it landed perfectly in his open mouth.</span></span></span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus clapped ironically, “Why didn't you tell us?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius shrugged with only one shoulder, and said around a mouthful of biscuit “I guess I wanted to keep it to myself for a while. Until I was sure."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And you're sure now?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius looked at him and Remus caught something in the grey of his eyes. Something he didn't recognize. "I am."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus had to look away. "You liked it then?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah. It's mostly healing spells, which can be useful outside of St. Mungus too, you know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus knew.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Plus, I get to hang out with you too.” Sirius threw his arm carelessly over Remus' shoulder and Remus froze for a second, but then Sirius was dropping his arm and running his hand through his hair as he told the Fat Lady the password.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus checked the air for the smell of burning fabric, for he felt scorched where he had been touched, and followed Sirius into the common room, his chest full of fluttering things.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you so much for reading. If you liked it, feel free to comment and share.<br/>You can also find me on <a href="https://polly-darton.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a>.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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